Love Is Never Easy
by blakesheart
Summary: Set years after The Green Lantern movie. Hal & Carol are now married, but Carol is finding it difficult to cope with the long periods of her husband being away for "work." And when the couple are blessed with a little miracle, Hal starts making me false promises, that Carol knows he won't keep. Will the Green Lantern's pact break them apart? Will Hal choose his job or his family..
1. Chapter 1

****_So when you're near me, darling can't you hear me?_

_SOS._

_The love you gave me, nothing else can save me._

_SOS._

_When you're gone, how can I even try to go on?_

_When you're gone, though I try, how can I carry on.._

* * *

_**"No matter how bad things get, something good is out there, just over the horizon…"**_

****The one phrase that was keeping Hal sane right now in this fight between supernatural forces. It had been years since his first encounter with the Green Lantern's people, but the same string of words remained firmly in his mind everyday. Getting him through any battle he had to face with them. Alongside the thoughts of his wife. His beautiful, angelic wife. Loving Carol unconditionally was like breathing to Hal. It was natural. Perfect. She was everything to him, nothing less. Since their wedding day, his love for Carol had grown to immense levels. He knew nothing could break them apart.

"You need to get back to your wife, Jordan." Tomar-Re, Hal's very first mentor, the "bird-man" as Hal called him, always took into consideration that he had a family. He too had one back at Sector 2814. Tomar understood exactly how Hal was feeling, they both had to spend long periods away from their families. Hal looked down at planets below him and Tomar. Earth seem so small in comparison to the dark depths of the galaxy currently surrounding Hal and his fellow Corps.

"I know, I know. She needs me.." Hal responded, frustrated. His wife's due date was yesterday, and he knew their baby could choose to appear at any minute. But instead of being by her side, helping her, he was fighting off a stubborn Parallax, that was set to swallow the planet behind them whole. Killing off an entire race of innocent Lanterns.

"Goddammit, why wouldn't you just DIE?!" Hal focused his mind on producing anything that could get into the Parallax's core and destroy it. A punch, a knife, a bomb. Tomar realized Hal's anger would have to take over any emotion he was feeling for Carol and their baby. The Parallax would automatically sense any weakness and fear in Hal's mind.

"We've done training for times like this, Hal. Channel your anger." Hal's eyes were glowing white behind his thin green mask, his teeth gritting as he repeats the phrase in his mind again.

_"No matter how bad things get, something good is out there...Something good, something good.."_

* * *

"Why won't she come out…" Carol whined painfully.

She had been in labor for over 20 hours and she was on her last ropes. She was overly tired, confused and worried as to why her baby was having such a hard time inside her. Over and over she would continue to push through contractions but nothing progressed even if her body told her she was ready.

Jack, Hal's older brother, was right by her side. Like he had been for practically her whole pregnancy. "She's a stubborn fighter, like her mother and father. Just relax, breathe, breathe… She'll be out soon." Jack soothingly whispered close to Carol's ear trying to calm her down. He squeezed her hand and hung closely next to her.

Carol struggled through a few more contractions until the doctor announced he was going to help bring the baby down for her. Carol's best friend, Lori, held onto her hand as the doctor assisted her. Carol winced through the process, as Jack and Lori continued to hold onto her telling her it was okay, over and over again.

"Alright, time to bring this baby into the world."

The nurses once again gathered around, placing a blanket upon Carol's swollen belly. They helped her pull back her legs and guide Jack and Lori to prepare to stay close with Carol to reassure her.

"Carol, when you feel the next contraction, give me the biggest push."

Carol felt the immense pain of the contraction building up. She needed her husband. She didn't care where he was, what he was doing, she needed him. She couldn't do this anymore.

"That's it, bring her out." The doctor encouragingly said, and Carol continued to groan as her baby girl slowly began to come into the world.

"Carol, oh my god, she has so much hair!" Lori excitingly said as he watched the baby's birth.

"Okay now, one more big push and your little girl will be here." The doctor keep encouraging, looking up every now and then to check that Carol was okay.

"I can't, I can't." Carol huffed, her pain stricken face relaxing a minute. "Doctor, do it for me." She whined as she laid her head back on the hospital pillow. Breathless and tired, Carol just wanted her baby here. And Hal beside her.

Lori smiled calmly and shook her head, scraping Carol's hair back from her forehead with her hand. "Honey, I'm afraid you're the only one who can now. Relax a moment and build up your energy again."

"No, no, no, I can't, I can't. Hal, I need him. I need Hal.." She painfully whined again.

Lori and Jack looked up at the mention of Hal, their eyes meeting.

"Come on, your little girl needs you." The doctor sternly told Carol.

Thinking of nothing else than bringing her baby into the world, Carol let out a loud groan and bore down. Lori began to rub her back, and turned back just in time to see the little girl's birth. "She's here, she's here…it's okay she's here." Lori said happily to her exhausted best friend.

Carol fell back against the pillows propped up behind her, as she opened her eyes, she saw her newborn daughter placed on her chest. "Oh my God, she's so tiny." Carol said as she cupped her daughter's head.

"She's here. I have a niece. I have a niece!" Jack happily called out.

The little girl began to cry, loudly and forcefully. Her chest went up and down as she took her first breaths.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I know. Welcome to the world, baby girl." Carol happily said soothingly to her newborn daughter. "Oh my god—" She began to shed some tears as Jack leaned in to take a closer look at his niece.

The nurses took the baby over to weigh her and clean her off. Jack quickly got up and walked towards his niece, he turned back and looked at Carol who hadn't taken her eyes off her newborn. He gave her a warm smile. As he knew he had to protect them both when Hal wasn't present, the promises of brotherhood overtook any others. And Hal had made Jack swear to take care of his wife and baby whenever he wasn't around.

"Six pounds and seven ounces! Good heart rate. Now lets get those little baby feet on a piece of paper." The nurse happily announced.

Jack stroked his niece's chest and grabbed carefully onto her little hand. He held her little palm and cradled it in his hand. The little girl was so precious and he couldn't believe that his brother and sister-in-law had created this little wonder.

The nurses wrapped the baby girl up in a soft blanket, they brought her over to Carol and placed her back down in her mothers arms. Lori and Jack settled either side of Carol's bed, watching the new mother with her baby.

"She's so perfect." Carol stated.

"She's a little fighter like her mom." Lori smiled, her head raised up to look at the baby.

"And a little determined like her father." Jack's words were like a stab in Carol's heart. Her husband had missed his daughter's birth. With how long her labor had been, she thought Hal would have had time to at least come and check on how she was doing. Carol sweetly kissed her little girl's button nose and stroked her soft cheek. Jack stepped back, the realization of his words sinking in, he took a seat in the chair close to Carol's bedside.

"I already love her. I'm gonna spoil her so much." Lori said, trying to break the tension that had suddenly filled the room.

The doctor walked over to Carol's bedside and smiled. "She has some bruising over her head, she was stuck behind your pelvic bone for a while. You might feel some discomfort for the next few hours." The doctor said informing Carol as he gently pointed out the bluish purplish coloring on the her baby's head. "It will go away though, very shortly. Nothing to worry about." He smiled again. "She's a little trooper."

Everything everyone was saying around her just reminded Carol of Hal. She had no idea if he was okay, what if something had happened? Where was he? What was he doing? Carol took a deep breath, glancing up to Lori. "Could you try Hal's phone again for me?" Her voice was filled to the brim with disappointment.

Lori could hear Carol's voice about to break, she raised a hand up to brush soothingly over Carol's arm. Nodding straight away, Lori grabbed her phone from placed on the bedside cabinet, getting up to leave the room to call Hal's phone for the millionth time that night.

"Carol?" In recognition of her name being spoken, Carol's head shot up to see Hal wavering in the doorway. Lori and Jack's expressions suddenly turned to disgust and disappoint that he had only just arrived. Having no idea what he'd _really _been doing..

"I called you like 45 times, Hal." Lori remarked, glancing down at Hal gripping his phone in his palm.

"Bad signal, I couldn't pick any of them up. The traffic into San Diego was backed up for miles.."

Carol knew their code. When Hal mentioned traffic, it meant he had done a difficult job. She tried to understand. Carol saw Jack get up, about to confront his brother. Only to see him stop when her baby let out a small cry from held securely in her arms.

Hal looked over Lori's shoulder, hearing the cry, he put the pieces together. _His baby was here. _He stepped past Lori to approach his wife's bedside, seeing the little hand's of his daughter moving under the blanket. He couldn't speak, he couldn't find any words. This moment was what they had both been waiting for. All the moments he had felt his daughter kicking beneath his hand, hearing her heartbeat during the ultrasound. All leading up to this.

"Wanna meet your daughter?" Carol smiled softly up to her husband, slowly tilting their daughter in her arms so he could see.

Hal was mesmerized by this tiny angel in his wife's arms. She looked so small & fragile, like a china doll curled up in Carol's arms, and it only made him more protective of them both. He took in all of her little features, her eyelids, her lips, how her jaw met her dimpled chin.

Carol raised their daughter up in her arms, letting Hal carefully take her as he perched on the edge of the bed beside his wife. The baby let out a soft coo at the new set of arms she'd been placed into. He was cautious of her, how she'd react to him, if he did something wrong, but he knew he would never let anything hurt his little girl. He gazed down at his wife, leaning down to gently press his lips to hers, unable to even begin to understand how much been she'd been through to bring their miracle into the world.

"Hello my gorgeous angel." Hal's voice was soft as he straightened his back, kissing the porcelain skin of his daughter's cheek. Carol took her hand away from cupped over their daughter's head. Hal began to take in all of her features up close, her eyes were wide and the same chocolate brown similar to his wife's. His eyes traveled over her forehead to the soft strands of dark hair covering his baby girl's head, Hal frowned at the sight of the bluish bruising close to the middle of his daughter's head.

"It's okay, Hal. She was a little stubborn."

Carol tried to use her hands to move her body higher up the bed under the blankets, exhaling a deep breath at the aching pain she associated with what the doctor had told her. Hal's head automatically turned to his wife, hearing her releasing a breath in what seemed like she was in pain. Carol looked up at her husband, his expression showing her his exact thoughts.

"The doctor said she got stuck behind my pelvic bone. And it might be uncomfortable for a few hours. But her bruising will fade soon, apparently."

Hal forced a soft smile down to Carol. He knew there was a reason he needed to be beside her so badly through this, his mind was overwhelming him with what seemed like a tsunami of guilt. He held his daughter cradled in the curve of his left arm, reaching the other out to rest his hand on the small of Carol's back.

"Do you want to tell our daughter her name?" Carol immediately changed the subject, moving their daughter's blanket higher up over her tiny shoulders. Hal saw it coming, his wife always put everyone else before herself, and now he had the responsibility of that for two girls in his life.

Hal murmured each word, slowly but surely, making sure he didn't wake his now sleeping newborn baby girl.

"Grace Carla Jordan."

Carol leaned her head against her husband's side, she loved being able to finally say her daughter's name. Hal's arm tightened around her body to bring her closer to him.

"Now I've got two beautiful women in my life."

Carol let her teeth bite down on her bottom lip as she grinned up at her husband. She didn't care where he'd been now, she didn't care what had happened, all that mattered was this moment. Her perfect little family together. Hal leaned down to kiss his wife's soft lips, murmuring against them.

_"I'm so proud of you.."_


	2. Chapter 2

_I try to reach for you, but you have closed your mind._

_Whatever happened to our love? I wish I understood._

_It used to be so nice, it used to be so good._

* * *

"Grace, please.." Carol almost chucked the finished file to the opposite side of her desk. Her daughter had been crying for nearly 15 minutes, she watched her trying to push the buckle away from her chest that kept her secure in her rocker. She had thrown every toy and object Carol had given her, and the new mother was at the end of her patience. She had stacks of files still to do, flying schedules to sign off, plane MOT's to organize. And she was doing it all alone.

Carol pushed her chair back from her desk, standing up behind it to walk round to Grace, seeing her daughter rocking back and forward and practically whining with impatience. At only a few weeks old, she already had her mother wrapped around her little finger. Carol bent down to unbuckle Grace from her chair, slowly lifting her up to rest against her chest.

"Sorry, baby girl. There we go, it's alright." Carol pressed a delicate kiss upon her daughter's head, taking in the scent she could only associate with her baby girl. She began to sway her body gently to try and rock Grace to sleep again, wondering over towards the open door leading out onto the balcony. _That balcony.. _The one that held so many memories that were dear to her heart. She pushed open the door fully, walking out towards the end of the balcony, inhaling a deep breath as she noticed the sunset that was fast approaching. Carol murmured softly down to her daughter, holding her close to her chest, her hand cupped around the back of Grace's head.

"You see that sunset, my angel? That means your Daddy's coming to see you." She knew Hal would come. She never for one second doubted him. They'd been so close for so many years, since they were kids, she knew when certain promises of his were true.

The sun was getting lower and lower by the minute, Carol watched as more of it disappeared behind the horizon. Her husband was late already, and the wind was getting colder out than normal. She glanced down at her daughter, smiling softly at the sight of finally asleep against her chest, Grace's hand touching upon the skin close to her collarbone. Carol had got so used to Grace falling asleep on her that she nearly always slept in her bed with her daughter cradled in her arms. The frequent emptiness beside her in bed where Hal should be often caused Carol to want to protect her baby girl even more, and have her as close to her as she can.

Carol turned around to go back into her office, the strength of the breeze blowing over the balcony made her almost automatically move her arms tighter round her daughter's tiny body laid over her chest. Once she'd stepped back into her office, Carol twisted her body back to look at the still open door. It was always open. She always kept it open. _False hope is one of my biggest weaknesses. _She would tell herself over and over again, thinking Hal might appear there and everything would be back to the way it was. How wrong she was.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door, Grace moved at the noise straight away, it stirring her awake from her peaceful slumber upon her mother's chest. Carol looked over to the doorway, calling out to the closed door, her voice bellowed through the office. "Come in."

The door opened, and stood there was a tall figure, broad shoulders, and scruffy hair that she could only associate with one person. Nick De'Aablo. Carol had hired Nick around the same time as Hal, she noticed the same ambition and drive in him that she had when she was training to be a pilot all those years ago. She flashed a smile over to Nick hovering in the doorway to her office.

"Ma'am, I just came to check how you were doing? I know that your Father has given you all the paperwork that was incomplete from weeks ago and.." Carol interrupted her employee, gently beginning to rub her daughter's back, knowing that her Father had probably sent Nick to check up on her. Only interested if she'd finished the filing he'd sent her. "I'm fine here," she stated, showing weakness at times like this wasn't Carol's style. It wasn't her work ethic. She'd preached everyone to be independent and confident in her work force, the key attributes a pilot should carry in every aspect of their work. Although, Nick had known Carol for many years, and he could see when his boss was struggling. And she didn't hide it well.

"Let me help?" Nick cautiously made his way over to Carol stood close by her desk with Grace still in her arms, he smiled warmly to her, before taking one of the closed files into his hands. He looked down, beginning to skim-read the words written, picking up one of Carol's pens on her desk to write beside the notes already there. He sympathized with how stressed Carol must be with her daughter at work with her and all this paperwork she had to finish on her own. Carol attempted to settle Grace when she became uneasy again, the sound of Nick's voice in the room seeming to agitate her into trying to move out of her mother's arms. Nick's head turned to glance up at Grace fighting to be held in Carol's arms, he straightened his back, leaving the pen beside the edge of the file. Carol could see he didn't really know what to do in the situation, but she waited until he spoke.

"I can take her if you want to sign these couple of files?" Nick's smile was reassuring. Something Carol hadn't witnessed from any man in her life for quite some time. She trusted him.

"Do you mind? She's been so restless today." Carol carefully and slowly handed Grace into Nick's accommodating arms, watching him hold her in a completely different position to the one Carol was used to. But Grace didn't make a fuss, she didn't react like Carol expected. She was calm, her daughter settled into Nick's arms like he was her own Father. _Another punch in the heart. _Carol's thoughts reacted with her body like a chemical explosion, the pain in her chest was back, the longing she had for her husband was back.

But Carol's eyes averted down, straight to the file Nick had left open on her desk, she quickly read the notes he'd written to make sure they were of standard. She picked up the pen, scribbling her signature in the box that directed her to. The soft coos Grace was making from above her in Nick's arms started to calm Carol, making her forget everything clouding her mind in that moment.

* * *

Hal's glowing green suit vanished from his skin, his clothes replacing it over his body as soon as his feet hit the concrete of Carol's office balcony. The door was closed. The door that was always open, was closed. Hal's head starting spinning with thoughts. _Why was the door closed? Had something happened? Had Carol given up waiting? _He knew he was late, and he knew he was in the doghouse, but Hal couldn't accept that Carol would have just left without seeing him. It hadn't occurred to him that she might of had other things to do and that their daughter needed to go home, he just needed so badly to see them both. Hal reached his hand out towards the handle of the closed door, pulling it back to him with ease.

"Hey."

After being without it for so long, Carol's voice was like a smooth love song to Hal's ears. His eyes settled on her sitting in one of the black leather couches situated close one wall of her office, his daughter's hands reaching up to try and reach her neck. He smiled towards his wife and baby, the sight of them together, his two girls, warming his heart once again. Hal wondered over to join Carol on the couch beside her.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I got caught up with.." Carol was silent, she had looked over to her husband once since he had walked in. Hal knew now wasn't a time for explaining, and that Carol was probably mad enough with him as it is without him rambling on trying to explain his lateness. He gazed down at their daughter, his hand's securing under Grace's arms to lift her up and over into his own. He had been craving to hold his daughter every minute of everyday he'd been away from her. His little miracle along with his wife were the only things keeping him going through these jobs that carried so much danger. Grace released a soft cry from Hal's arms, the movement from her mother's arms and the temperature change of her Father's body distressing her. Carol was on edge, her eyes didn't waver from her daughter as soon as she was taken from her.

"Hey, shh. It's okay. It's only Daddy." Hal tried his hardest to soothe his little girl in his arms, but nothing seemed to be working. Her cries grew louder, and Carol grew closer to his side, pining to take her back from him again hearing her daughter upset.

"She needs feeding," Carol stated firmly, moving her hands around Grace's sides to bring her back against her chest, letting the side of her head settle into the crevice of her neck. Grace's cries lowered in volume, feeling the warmth of her mother radiating from her soft skin. Hal was stone cold in comparison, and Carol knew her daughter liked being held close to people's bodies. A habit her husband hadn't been around to take note of.

"Listen, baby, I'm sorry.."

Hal's attempt at an apology was short-lived and cut off by a knock at Carol's office door. The couple's heads both turned towards the sound that was heard from the opposite side of the dark colored wood.

"Come in."

Hal could hear the stern tone in Carol's voice, it was familiar to him, and it could rip through anything and anyone. The door swung open slowly, and he began to take in the figure stood before him and his wife. Hal's teeth gritted together, his jaw tensing.

"S..Sorry, I'm interrupting aren't I? I'll come back later." Nick's voice appeared fast and cutting, him and Hal never got on ever since the first day of training. They despised each other, and that hadn't changed in over 6 years.

"No, it's fine. Hal was just leaving." Nick froze in the doorway. _Punch in the heart. _Hal felt it hard & fast. Something that Carol was all too familiar with. These punches were something she'd gotten used to, everyday. Hal looked at his wife in sincere confusion, quickly frowning over in her direction. But Carol's gaze was cold, her eyes were piercing into his like she was throwing daggers in his direction. The tension was building up in the room, the two bodies on the couch ticking away like a time bomb ready to blow.

Hal's chest was starting to raise up and down with anger, Carol could see it, but she didn't react. It wrongly felt bittersweet to her, seeing her husband feeling the exact same emotions as she did when he left her for hours, days. Her eyes just kept a deathly hold upon his. Hal got up, leaving as fast as he came. _Punch in the heart. _Carol hadn't time to catch Hal, her heart told her to go after him, but her mind told her to not give in.

Hal stormed down the corridor down from Carol's office, reaching his arm out to push off every trophy on the cabinet lining the side of the hallway. Each set of doors he came to, he pushed open with such strength, the hinges shook, the nails struggling to take the force. His thought's eating his mind up.

_Was he losing the only two things he was living for? _

__No.

He'd fight, like his job, like everyday.

He'd fight for them. For his family.


	3. Chapter 3

_Everything you said we would be,_

_all the things you said we'd do._

_I revolve my life around the thought of me & you._

* * *

Carol practically glugged back the wine she'd poured herself, the glass quickly getting emptier as the minutes ticked by; painfully slow in her mind. Sat in a pair of skinny jeans and a crisp white t-shirt partly covered with one of Hal's hoodies, her eyes were glued to the TV, through boredom and the fact she was trying to forget she was alone again. Grace was sound asleep in her room, and Carol could hear her steady and soft breathing through the baby monitor she always kept close by her. Nothing decent was on TV tonight, but the sound of the multiple voices coming from the screen settled Carol's mind at least a little. The house was no longer silent, which was something she had never got used to with her husband's frequent absence from what was supposed to be their home. Carol didn't think of it as that anymore, it was merely a place to keep Grace safe and warm, to watch her grow up comfortably. Nothing more.

Every noise that Carol heard made her flinch in her current position on the couch. Even with how much Hal had reassured her that Grace & his wife would be protected no matter what, she still couldn't forget what had happened in the past.

Carol didn't believe for one second that she and her daughter were safe on their own. And with Hal away so often, it was beginning to take its toll on her mind and body. She couldn't sleep, relax, or eat properly, and Grace had seemed to have started picking up the same habits as her mother. Carol took back the few last drops of wine onto her tongue from the bottom of the glass; she had already drunk nearly a bottle on her own. But these days it didn't take her long to finish off the whole thing herself.

The sudden sound of the doorbell caused Carol to jump close to violently, She reached down to catch the glass in her hand again just in time before it hit the wooden floor of the living room, her other hand resting over her chest in an act of shock.

"Jesus Christ."

_Who an earth is that at this time?_ Carol knew that Hal wondered straight in when he came home and didn't bother knocking, or at least, that's what he normally did. She got up to head out to the door, the shadow of a person's head shined through the pieces of glass situated close to the top of the front door. Immediately... she was unsure. Carol's heart began pounding in her chest, thumping with fear. She was pretty tipsy on nearly a whole bottle of wine, and not in the right frame of mind or state to deal with whoever this was. Stranger or not. Upon opening the door, Carol released a quick sigh of relief, recognizing the stranger stood before her.

"Nick?! Oh, thank god..." She stepped aside, opening the door wider to let her co-worker into the house from the cold. Carol gazed up at the noir sky scattered with small stars, wondering if Hal would return tonight or leave his wife to try and sleep alone again. Nick cautiously stepped past Carol into the hallway as she shut the door behind her. "I didn't know it was you!"

"You left these files at work. And I know Carl wants them done as soon as possible.." Nick glanced down at the files he was carrying, before he heard Carol sigh. She was suddenly frustrated. And she knew that her father would never give her a break when it came to work. He hated that she had Grace to look after, and his opinion on Hal was another story. That remaining wine seemed more appetising to Carol by the second. She took the pile of files from Nick's hand to carry them into the living room, letting them drop down onto the desk placed in the corner. "Do you want a glass of wine? I've got a bottle open." Nick followed Carol through the house, taking in every aspect that Hal and Carol had created together. Carol's secret hobby and talent of interior design always astounded anyone who was lucky enough to visit her home. He swallowed at the multiple framed photos of Hal and Carol placed on the desk, it felt wrong to him being here. The very thought of Hal Jordan made Nick's skin crawl, and the fact he was in the very house in which this asshole slept and lived just made it ten times worse.

"Uh, sure. I don't want to intrude on your evening though.."

Nick knew Carol was too kind to even think twice about letting him have a drink with her, even if she was practically his boss. And Nick selfishly wanted to spend time with Carol wherever Hal would be most jealous.

"Don't be silly. Not like I'm doing anything special." He watched his co-worker almost glide towards her dark leather couch, before patting the space beside her for him to join. Cautiously, Nick accepted Carol's invite to sit with her, perching on the edge of the couch cushion as she poured him a glass of wine from the remainder that was left in the bottle. He watched her reach for the TV remote, quickly zapping the screen to black. Then the silence was suddenly back. Although this time, Carol was comfortable with it. It was bizarre. She wasn't uneasy, but she still had to stop herself from getting up to distract herself. She was so used to doing the same routine every night, and it was plain weird just sitting beside a guy contently in her own house again.

"Did you fly today?" Carol glanced over to Nick while he took nearly a gulp of the wine, quickly swallowing it to reply to her. "Yeah, not for long. All the flight schedules were fucked 'cause Brandon didn't put his slip in again." Carol laughed softly, shaking her head at Nick's words. They both knew the rookie of the crew was still getting used to the routine that the others had slowly perfected over the years. Nick watched Carol; he knew that he loved seeing her happy, her laugh could easily light up a room even in the most tense or boring situations. Something he absolutely sloved about her.

* * *

Nick leant forward to place his empty wine glass on the coffee table next to Carol's still half full. The co-workers were both now gradually losing their senses and direction, with Carol's empty bottle of wine still on the table with a new one just opened beside it. She struggled to fill her glass halfway again, raising it up to her lips to take a gulp after succeeding.  
"I don't even fucking want to talk to my Dad anymore." Carol slightly slurred her words, the alcohol she'd consumed being the first thing to blame. Nick couldn't help but feel a little shocked at his boss swearing in front of him, but secretly he loved it. He'd always wanted to see this side of her away from work. But he'd never gotten the chance once Hal had sunk his claws into Carol and hitched her up. He couldn't even ask her out for a drink without Hal finding out. And now they had a goddamn kid together.

"Forget about him."

Carol took a deep breath and smiled over to Nick. She knew how stressed she was with work, it never seemed to fade, but this evening was different than any other she'd had in so long. Nick seemed to be a calming presence beside her on the couch, she was becoming more comfortable around him by the second after the wine they'd chugged back, so comfortable that he too was starting to picture things he shouldn't. Things he secretly thought about daily.

Nick took Carol's glass from her hands, resting it down on the coffee table beside his that was visibly empty. He then reached his hand over to rest cupped over Carol's cheek.

"You're lonely aren't you.."

"Nick.." Carol's voice appeared weakened, she was comfortable with Nick, but not this close. This was getting dangerously out of hand by the second, but she didn't know how to stop it. She hadn't been this vulnerable in a long time, Carol was confident, she could hold her own. She could battle through anything and everything. And everyone knew it. But this was different. And the only thing on her mind right now was Hal, and the fact her daughter was sound asleep upstairs unaware of everything that was going on below her.

Carol tried to push her hand firmly against Nick's chest as his body grew closer to hers, but he was stronger than her. His flexing muscles were clearly visible where he was keeping Carol down, and they reminded Carol of the way she used to adore feeling Hal's own against her bare body when they slept. Nick pushed her legs apart, reaching his hand down to run up the inside of her thigh. His lips crushed against Carol's, kissing her hard, muffling her attempts to call out or scream. Suddenly she finds her strength, managing to wrestle free from underneath Nick, falling onto the wooden floor in front the couch. He grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her back up towards him. Carol heard Nick's voice bellow down to her, causing her to remember how her father used to shout at her as a little girl.

"Get up! Stop being so stupid!"

Nick's grip on Carol's wrist loosened when they heard a voice fill the room that was familiar to both of them.

"Carol?!"

_It was him_. Carol looked up to see her husband hovering in the doorway of the living room holding a bunch of flowers. Her favorites. She saw Hal's puzzled expression, knowing he was obviously trying to work out what was happening like she was, and why Nick was doing this to her. Hal didn't know whether to go to comfort Carol or kill Nick after seeing what he'd done to his wife. But he didn't want this scum in his house a minute longer. Hal settled his eyes on Carol, seeing how vulnerable she was, shaking like a leaf, laid on the floor, her eyes telling Hal a story of their own as she looked between her husband and Nick. Scared of what they'd potentially do to each other. Hal placed the flowers down on the desk in the corner of the room close to where he'd been stood, not once taking his eyes off Nick with how close he still was to his wife.  
"You get the fuck out of my house this minute before I rip your head off." Carol shuffled herself across the wooden floor away from the couch Nick was sat on, reaching a hand up to hold onto the arm of the chair Hal used to always sit in, before leaning back against it. Searching for any stability and comfort.

"Come on, man. It was harmless." Nick's voice was malicious, like he was hissing at Hal. It sounded like he was a completely different person. Like some unknown force had taken over him when he walked into the couple's house.

"Harmless?! How is throwing my wife around and forcing yourself onto her harmless, huh?!" Hal grabbed hold of Nick's wrist in a vice grip that could crush anything, mimicking what he'd done to Carol minutes earlier, dragging him through the living room and towards the front door. Before he could even say a word, Hal twisted his fiend's arm behind his back, gritting his teeth close to Nick's ear. "You say another word and I'll break your fucking arm. Got it?" Before Nick could answer Hal, he felt his body hit against the hard concrete of the path, watching and hearing the front door slam above him. The path he had ventured up hours earlier, unaware that he'd be leaving again this way. But he didn't feel guilty. Nick knew that he should feel some resentment over what he'd just done, but he didn't feel anything. He was numb inside. Like something was eating him up from the inside out.

Hal headed back through the house into the living room, his wife hadn't moved from the spot she had frozen in. It was killing him to see her like, his heart ached for Carol to be content & happy. But he hadn't been around to make that happen lately, and Hal knew he was the only one to blame for this happening.

"Carol, baby.." He bent down in front of Carol, resting his hand on her knees before instinctively pulling her towards him in a safe embrace, her tiny shaking frame resting against his chest like two puzzle pieces finally connecting again. Hal raised his hand up to the back of his wife's head, holding her up carefully, cautious of how she might react to his touch after witnessing Nick's contact with her body. Hal's body seemed to turn numb when he heard Carol begin to cry into his shoulder, he turned to gently kiss the top of his wife's head, taking in the familiar scent of her hair, one of the things that Hal associated with Carol and no one else. He attempted to comfort her through his words simultaneously to his muscular arms surrounding her frame, "I've got you. It's okay now, you're safe with me."

"I'm so sorry.. I'm sorry.." The only words Carol could manage. Straight away. An apology. Hal knew that his wife would now begin to blame herself for what had occurred, he couldn't stop her, that was how Carol mentally dealt with things. She treated bad situations as her fault, taking responsibility for everything and everyone around her that made a mistake. If someone purposely tripped Carol up, she'd get up and apologize to them.

"Hey, hey. What are you sorry for?" Hal tentatively cupped his hands around Carol's cheeks, gently pushing her head up to encourage her to look at him, knowing he could only make her focus once their eyes had met each other again. Slowly, Hal brushed the small tears away that were streaming down his wife's cheeks, having to hold back his own at the sight of Carol this distressed. He felt a dull ache spreading through his chest, knowing that it was the pure guilt starting to build up not only in his mind but his body too.

Carol leaned her head forward a little, allowing her lips to brush across her husband's, before planting a soft kiss there. Beginning to try and sniff back her tears, her managed to find her voice to talk to Hal, staying undeniably close to him.

"I love you."

Hal watched Carol's lips as she said those three words that had steadily built their relationship and marriage, an aspect that had kept it going for longer that they both could have dreamed.

"I love you too. My beautiful wife."

* * *

Gently, Hal moved his arm tighter around Carol's body, moving his head down to kiss her forehead as she slept beside him, watching one of her hand's clasping the material of his t-shirt. He couldn't sleep, his mind was more than awake, he wouldn't rest until he knew she was okay and that she felt safe again. Hal always thought that harm would come to his wife through his job, through his carelessness to keep it a secret. Not like this. Not through someone he knew Carol thought she could trust. Who had been in both their lives for years.

Flashing a glance over to Grace's crib that was placed in the corner of the room, Hal smiled softly when he caught sight of his daughter's body through the bars stopping her from falling from where she slept. He was still so fascinated by Grace's mannerisms and her movements, how she reacted to certain things and people, but Hal knew this was partly because he wasn't around to see her developing, to see his daughter growing up.

The green light of Hal's power ring glowed from it's place on the bedside cabinet. He turned his body over a little so he could reach for it, knowing that whatever happened here, he could never catch a long enough break from his duties as a lantern.

_No._

Hal told himself, his hand hovering over the ring. Something could be really wrong, but surely they could call another lantern? A lantern that didn't have a family to take care of. A wife that had been practically attacked only a few hours earlier. Inhaling a deep breath, Hal turned away from his flashing ring and back over in bed to face Carol. His hand roaming back under the covers to rest on her side.

This is where he was meant to be. Not off fighting, not off risking his life every time he took a job.

This is where he belonged. With his wife & daughter.

And he wouldn't be leaving them again any time soon.


End file.
